This Is Your Chance
by Shacho Rufaasu
Summary: He was given a second chance at life. But can he really live up to his promise to the Planet? A Rufus Shinra story.
1. Chapter One

**This is your Chance**

_A Rufus Shinra story_

**-- Chapter One –**

"…_Where… am I…? _

…_This feeling… _

_I'm floating…? _

_But… _

_the building…_

_This light… _

_It… _

_Am I dead…?" _

The light was a pale green, with a slight glow, almost as if he had dove head first into a Mako Fountain. At least that's what it looked like to his blue eyes, which seemed to have trouble focusing.

_Temporarily._

"…What? Temporarily? Who is there…" He had given up on keeping his eyes open, the unusuallong lashes, at least on a man, drifting down. He was tired… so tired…

_Yes. Until a suitable decision has been made for your existence._

The voice was both near and far away at the same time. He knew it, yet it was a stranger all the same. Both male and female. "Where am I? Am I dead? The building –"

_It collapsed._

"It collapsed…?" Even as he questioned, he was not very surprised.

_Yes… You survived the shots… and you tried to escape to the lower floors… but just as you did, the building collapsed in on itself. _There was a bit of amusement in the voice, as if it was contemplating a human surviving a WEAPON's attack.

"So I'm…"

_Dead... at least right now. You know, if you ask the Planet for forgiveness, you just may get a second chance._

"A second chance? At life?" There was disbelief in the black velvet voice.

_Yes. Maybe, if you ask…_

"I don't ask anyone for forgiveness. I can stand on my own. If I'm dead, I'm dead. It doesn't matter to anyone or thing." It was an automatic response for him.

_It matters to someone… a number of people…_

"Impossible." He scoffed. "No one—"

_Have you forgotten your only friends? Your only family?_

"My only…" He paused, thinking about that. "The Turks?"

_Yes. They care. They're searching for you. _Even with his eyes closed, an imaged flashed through his mind. A pile of rubble. Elena slumped on the rocks, face in her hands. Reno standing above her, hand on her shoulder as silent tears fan down his face. Rude, his glass in his hand, head bent. Tseng stood separately, staring off into the distance, his face stoic, but there was rage and grief in his dark eyes. Sadness.

The voice chuckled at the sheer shock that came over the floating man. "But… why? Since when did they ever care about me?"

_More people care than you think. Do you want to float forever in the stream of life?_

"… I… I don't know…"

_Give it a try. Go on, ask for forgiveness. You'll be given a second chance._

"But I'm just as terrible as my father, maybe worse; why do I deserve a second living?"

_You can change. Your father did not ask. He did not believe in the Planet._

"Nor do I. Nothing has been proven to me that the Planet is of existence as they say. It is dirt and rock and Mako. That is all." Yet even as he said it, he wavered, something that was new to him. He never wavered in his beliefs.

_If the Planet did not exist as it were, you would not be consciously awake right now... the Planet is holding you together. Just ask… Try._

"I really don't…" He sighed. "Fine. I'll trust you. What do I say?"

_Merely admit to your sin and beg for forgiveness. Then if the Planet feels you deserve a second living it will be awarded to you._

"How do I know this will work?"

_Maybe if you weren't stubborn for once. _A chuckle.

"Fine. Planet, I have come to realize now that I have committed wrong – My plans of world domination have subsided, I no longer wish to purge within your body and steal what little life remains within you. I have committed sin and I wish to be forgiven and given another chance." There was impatience in his voice.

…

"Well, did it work? I don't feel any different."

_**Are you asking for exoneration? **_

"Yes… Please… I wish to be forgiven. Forgive me Planet for my poisonous antics. I wish to live again." The scene kept playing over in over in his mind, of the Turks grieving for him. For him!

…

…

…

_**So be it, you shall be granted a second prospect upon life. However, shall you forsake the chance given to you, you will not be forgiven again.**_

"I… I understand…"

_**Now, make worth of yourself… Live again, Rufus Jeanathyn Shinra. Don't forget – This is your chance.**_


	2. Chapter Two

**This Is Your Chance**

_A Rufus Shinra story_

**--Chapter Two--**

_…not possible…_

_…where..._

_No, not there…_

_It's gone…_

It was the aftermath. Everyone was gone, gone for good. After the assault by Diamond WEAPON and the destruction of it right afterward, everything was believed to be dead now; the company, their spirits, their ambitions, but more importantly, their beloved President. But some failed to believe it. They did not want to believe that Shinra was completely over now. It couldn't be. Not after all of this. Sephiroth was still under threat and they had to do something about it. But who could step up? What could be done? Their President was dead. Heidegger and Scarlet had been killed by the very own weapon they had crafted themselves – certainly the Turks were much too low to believe they could ever run such an operation. But now they didn't even have anyone to take orders from. They had Tseng, of course, but even he couldn't say much either without someone to look up to.

It had been several days now. Most of the Turks randomly decided that they should scout the premises of what remained of Shinra, just in case. Maybe, just maybe they'd find something to help them. To lead them on; on what they should be doing. Maybe, they could find their President, too.

As the few in numbers approached the dismantled area, tripping over rubble and staring upon the destruction of their home town, the only thing heard was the quiet murmurs and coughs, and the crunching of pebbles along the destroyed ground beneath their feet. Most had their heads hung, staring at the ground, trying to forget everything that had happened in the past few days. Everything they had ever grown up around was completely destroyed, just as it had reached its highpoint. They were still young, they didn't understand; maybe, but they certainly weren't fit to handle it. And now above all things, the world was going to end, and there was nothing they could do about it.

One male, still dressed in his imperfect style of his dark blue suit, crouched around the ground and picked up a large chuck of cement and bent steel pipes here and there and upturned them, turning them away and giving the constant reminder to himself that this job was absolutely pointless and that he would he finding nothing. He sniffled and rubbed his finger beneath his nose as dust rose into his senses, huffing slightly. He then ruffled his spiky red hair, pulling at his rat tail to suit it more comfortably against his skull. He was about ready to just give in and turn his back. But just like everyone else, he knew he couldn't do it.

After up heaving several more chucks of rock, he kicked one out of frustration and instantly regretted doing so. Sitting down promptly upon a pile of powered cement and rock, he pressed down upon his dress boot to rid himself of the pain. His voice broke through the bleeding silence as he cursed the rubble. "Damn it! Why do we have to be around here, anyway? It's just full of bad memories, yo! And stupid rocks, rocks, and more rocks!! Oh yeah, did I mention rocks?"

"Calm yourself, Reno." Another taller Turk murmured bluntly; he wasn't any happier to be here than the rest of them were. He wore the same dark blue suit as Reno did, but his was more properly tucked and straightened. He would brush away any bit of dust that attempted to come near. As if to match up with the rest of his seeming perfection, he had long sleek midnight hair where the shortest ends were tied in the back; the rest left undone. He also had a peculiar mark on his forehead that no one seemed to know the origin of. "Remember, we're here for a reason. We have to see if there are any survivors, namely our President."

"Hooligans, Tseng! He's dead, how could he have survived that blast, yo? It completely destroyed the seventieth floor! No way!" Reno snapped back, shifting his weight upwards so that he could stand. He swerved a bit back and forth, dusted himself off and coughed a few more times. "There's nothing here but junk, and a half broken building. We should just forget it. It's over, it's all over."

Tseng stared back at the derelict building and sighed, crossing his arms. "It doesn't matter. What if he is? It's possible, although improbable…" The older Turk seemed to be having conflicts with coping himself. No one wanted to believe he was dead. But maybe that was just the truth. He wasn't about to give up, however, as he raised his head in slight determination. "But we're going to keep on searching. We're Turks, we don't quit out. What if one of you was in danger and everyone just gave up on you?"

Several of the other dark suited cronies looked up in recognition; they wouldn't want to be left for the dead, they were thinking. This gave them the fuel to keep looking. They returned to their duties and resumed scavenging through the broken debris. Reno huffed in annoyance, patting down his jacket and turning away, doing the same.

Elsewhere, far off within the ruined remains of Shinra... It was much colder, much darker beneath the piles. There was a chilling stillness, but just below – a figure was slightly astir. But the remains were much too heavy, but too dark, and therefore left the laying figure in comatose – at least for now.

_It's so dark..._

_And cold..._

_Where am I..?_

But he would not be answered. Aside from darkness, that was. He desperately tried to open his eyes; unless they already were, he couldn't tell. It was too dark. He tried to move, but he was paralyzed.

_Why can't I see..?_

_Or move..._

Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound. Something he hadn't heard in a long while, or at least what he thought was a long while... He wasn't sure; how long had he been asleep? How long had he been in the Lifestream? He knew that any amount of time could have passed when floating through there... There was no telling the passage of time in that plane of reality. None at all. All you did was float aimlessly, after all. Time didn't matter.

"Ah, shaddap Elena! I don't need smack from you!" shouted the all-familiar red head; he knew that voice anywhere. But why was it taking him so long to realize his surroundings? He opened his mouth to speak, maybe get some attention; someone to help him... but nothing came. "I'm looking over there! Geez!"

"Reno!! Aw, darn it..." That voice. That was... a female Turk... what was her name? Didn't the carrot top just say it? "Fine! Mister, 'Elena, do this, do that... Elena do this for me! Do that for me!! Jerk..."

It was Elena. He tried and tried again to say something, but again nothing would come to him. But he had to keep trying; he had to say something, if even a groan; anything to get their attention.

I want out of here, he thought. Out of this darkness... Pain after all was beginning to make its slow creep up his spine, and through his legs and arms... Ah, feeling. How he had waited for the feeling of extreme pain to course through his fragile and broken body... Not.

This time he tried with all of his might. He felt his jaw move, and if he choked out hard enough, maybe a sound would come out. He twitched, shifted a centimeter or two, and forced what little air he had in his broken lungs out.

"..eeell.."

Well, it was a good shot. But at least now he knew that he could produce sound of some kind. He tried again.

"Eeeel... eeellaaa..."

There was a shift in the rocks, as if someone was walking by, but stopped. "Hey, did you hear that?" the young blonde called out. She received a negative response. "I think I heard something!"

Yes, they could hear him! At least one of them could... that's all mattered. It fueled his determination to live. "Elllaaa.. Nn... ellaaa...naa.." He gasped and choked. He was choking now; he could feel it. Heavy weight all around him. His chest, his back, his legs... In mentioning his legs, they seemed to hurt even worse. In fact, if he tried hard enough, he could tell that they were not shaped quite right. Possibly completely out of place and bent in ways they shouldn't be. Maybe that was what cold liquid he was feeling... possibly, blood. He most certainly hoped not. But then as his nerves further awakened throughout his body, he felt that there was a slight gap. One area of his body that was not covered in heavy weight. His left arm. He shifted his head another few centimeters, and forced his fingers to twitch.

Boy, was this the most extreme workout he's ever gotten. It was so much more difficult when you're possibly broken into several dozen pieces, he established.

"Forget it! It's not possible!" shouted the red head. He made a mental note to force him into his position and see how he liked it some day.

"I swear, I heard something!" apparently, she had mentioned that before when he wasn't paying attention. But their voices were rather faint. But then, he heard the crunching of rock once more. "Oh god!! President!"

Maybe they had noticed him. "That's a severed pipe, Elena!" Maybe not. "Stop imagining things!"

Suddenly, there was a shift in weight. A great amount of pressure was lifted from his back, and suddenly there was a crack of light out of the corner of his eye. "Oh god! Mister President!" Elena never seemed to wear that word out. He felt himself crack the smallest smile, and more weight was shifted off of his body. "Reno, come quickly!!"

"What are you – Oh Jesus! Okay, I'll help you!"

Maybe now would be the suitable time to rest easy. With that thought, he again fell into the sinking darkness.

--


	3. Chapter Three

-1**This is Your Chance**

_A Rufus Shinra story_

**--Chapter Three--**

_**A filler to let my fans know this story isn't dead.**_

**--**

_An author's notice to the one who keeps anonymously reviewing me under the name **ShinRa/Belldandy:**_

**Please stop posting the same exact review for every single chapter. **Yes, the story is good, thank you, but please refrain from repeating yourself and posting the same thing **twice** for every chapter. I'll be deleting every review that has the same, "Please keep writing, best story ever, can't wait to see what happens next," sentence in it. I love reviews and all, but I am not looking for a number or constant praise -- I like for people to actually sound **human** in their reviews and give their input on how they liked it or what they'd like to see next, not the same thing over and over again. I actually care about how people review.

_To everyone else who reviewed:_

Thank you so much. You help me continue stories like this. Please make sure to gibe me more input so I can get ideas for what to do next

Now, on with the story.

--

…_No._

_NO!_

_Don't touch me, I said--_

_  
You're doing it wrong._

_Father?_

_Old man._

__

You'll pay for your actions, boy!  


_  
You've fucked up now!  
_

_  
No, no! Don't touch him!  
_

_  
Stop it, stop it, it hurts!  
_

_  
Mister President..  
_

_  
…Not there.  
_

_  
How's work going?  
_

_  
The one called Jenova..  
_

_  
..AVALANCHE..  
_

_  
Wutai war is starting..  
_

_  
That boy? In Junon..  
_

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He doesn't deserve--  
_

_  
…Sir…_

_Mister President!  
_

_  
There's a high energy force heading straight for Midgar!  
_

_  
I'll take you all down with me…  
_

_  
…Rule… with fear..  
_

_  
Control the world--_

__

Sir…  


_  
Mommy loves you..  
_

_  
NO!!  
_

_  
Okay, I'll help--  
_

_  
Wake up, please wake up…  
_

_  
You bastard, you killed her!  
_

_  
NO, STOP, NO!  
_

_  
…Mommy loves you…_

"Sir…?"

Just as it had gone dark, it had just as quickly began to become light. His vision grew bright, wider, and soon he was attempting to focus. His mind reeled and buckled attempting to connect together and work properly. He was hearing everything and nothing at once. Muffled noises, someone talking, many other sounds he could not make out. Screams, explosions, pain. Cries for help, sirens, people running amok in fear. Slowly it all began to fade, quiet down, as his vision focused in on shapes. Circles, squares, lines… Lights.

Lights?

As he began to adjust further, he could better recognize his surroundings. His senses were slowly awakening one by one. Beeping. Air pressure locking and releasing. The low hum of the building's inner workings and other working machines. The sterile cleaning solution type of scent. Stale plastic. He felt soft, smooth.. Pain… He was in a hospital.

"Sir… you're awake…" he could now hear the feminine voice clearly. But it was taking him quite a while to completely function. By the time it registered in his brain, he took his first desperate gasp of air, and moved his arm. He immediately regretted doing so, and placed it back down. He felt a light touch on his arm. "Sir, please, don't try to move to much… You've just woken up from an eight-month long coma."

He blinked. He'd been asleep for eight months? He swore it felt only like a few seconds. He slowly turned his head, and looked over at the source of the voice. It was Elena once again. If his memory served correctly, she had found him at the wreck site. But his memory was incredibly blurry.

All the previous visions he had had during his sleep he had already completely forgotten about. But he knew he had them. What were they..? He realized Elena was still talking to him, and reverted his attention. "..thought that you'd never wake up. They were going to terminate you next week.." She looked away sadly, then smiled. "But you're awake now! That's a good sign!"

He could hardly attest to it being a good sign. He lived through a must-have-been death experience, the Planet obviously had plans for him.

The Planet.. It had spared him. He was still thinking on why that was. What did the Planet want him to do? Why was he saved? Is there some kind of mission he still has to fulfill before the Planet takes him back? Or maybe a second chance at life?

That's right. A second chance. He was being given a second chance to right his wrongs, and do better for himself, which the Planet was well aware that Rufus Shinra was capable of.

But why not anyone else?

"Sir?"

He blinked again. The attack obviously had developed attention deficit disorder into his brain. He attempted to reply. He moved the muscles in his throat, groaned, and opened his mouth. "…Hrmm.. Rmm.. Mmyess?" It was better than nothing. But Elena was smart, apparently she caught on to what he was trying to say.

"Are you hungry or anything? A lot of your body was burned or broken, but it's all pretty much healed now… You might still feel some pain, but the nurse will be here soon.." She glanced towards the door. A blur of red and black had passed by the door.

Rufus laid there for a moment, closing his eyes. He yawned, slowly lifting his hand to touch his throat, feeling the pain as he yawned. "..Mmm.. Yes.."

The female Turk smiled and slowly rose out of her seat. She touched his arm gently. "Okay. I'll be back in a moment, sir." She watched him for a second longer then went to the door. He heard it open, and she called out to someone. Then the door shut quietly behind her as she left.

Rufus yawned again. He felt groggy, numb, sore… Slightly dizzy even. He easily fell back into a nice doze as he waited.

He was woken up rather suddenly. He felt a cold press to his left eye. He growled and grumbled, trying to move away. A hand grabbed the other side of his head and pulled him back. "Sir, stay still, I'm trying to redress your wounds." It was Tseng talking to him this time. "I'm sorry to have woken you, but I must do this. Because of your coma and weak status your wounds are taking much longer to heal than normal."

He blinked, rolled his eyes, looked around. The room was slightly darker. He must have passed out for an hour or two or so. But then again he didn't know when he woke up. He watched Tseng through his other eye as he stood there for a moment. He removed the cold object; a pad of gauze with some kind of medicine on it. He replaced it with a dry one, and a bandage was carefully wrapped around his head. He moved Rufus' bangs aside to do so.

"Now sir.. You'll have to sit up.. It may be uncomfortable." The Turk gently slid his arm beneath his bigger body, and his other held onto his chest. "Ready, one, two.." He hoisted him up into a sitting position. Rufus let out a disgruntled shout, holding onto his abdomen. Tseng pulled away his arms and began pulling off the scrub top from his body. "I'm sorry sir, I'm trying my hardest not to harm you…"

Rufus growled and sighed, resting against the back of the bed once it was lifted up for him. He still felt groggy. He remained calm and limp, eyes closing, wanting to doze again as Tseng worked off the bandaged around his shoulders and middle. He hummed uncomfortably.

He took more of that obscurely smelling cold medicine and began gently applying it to his body. Every time he squirmed, Tseng stopped for a moment. "Sir, please stay still."

Once the medicine was applied, he did the same to his arm, then wrapped up both in fresh bandages. Then the scrub top was pulled back on and buttoned up. Tseng motioned for Elena to leave the room as he worked on his lower body and legs.

Once Rufus was all cleaned up and dressed back up, Tseng lowered the bed just a bit. He had also applied an IV line into his arm, so that morphine flowed into his system. Rufus sighed as it began working. He felt more relaxed now. Elena came back in, wheeling a cart in front of her. They placed a tray in his lap. "Here's your food, sir. We're sorry it's nothing special, but the doctors don't know how stable your digestive tract is right now."

It was the average soup and crackers with jello. Rufus made a face. It smelled like rubber and paper sprinkled with sugar, but he didn't complain, he just ate it. He nearly coughed it up. Tseng and Elena moved to get up, but he drank some water and he was fine. "Ugh.. This is horrible." he groaned in a raspy voice. He cleared his throat.

Once he was finished, the TV was turned on and Tseng laid in the bed beside Rufus', opening and reading a book, and Elena laid down on a cot that was on the floor, her things scattered on it. There was also a number of Tseng's belongings on a night stand. Rufus looked at them both. "Where's Reno?"

Elena looked away from the TV, kicking her legs. She was laying on her stomach. "He was here earlier when you were asleep, and before you woke up… But only two people can stay with you at the hospital, and someone needs to look out for the house anyway. He agreed to do it, because you know, he gets bored easily just staring at a half-dead person all day every day for several months."

Rufus let out a hoarse chuckle. "I see. I was that boring?" he said sarcastically. Tseng chuckled and turned the page of his book.

Within the next few hours, Elena was passed out, sprawled on her cot in an odd position. Rufus was much too awake now, so he just kept watching TV. Tseng was also still awake.

"Sir… How much longer are you going to be awake?" he asked, before yawning. He had set his book aside for now.

Rufus cleared his throat, swallowed. "I'm not sure. But you think after being asleep for eight months I'd be able to stay awake for a couple weeks." He joked.

Tseng smiled slightly. At least he was feeling alright, as it seemed. "Yes, but let's not try that, alright? You also need some real sleep to help you recover."

"Yes, yes, I know." Rufus muttered, turning his attention back to the television. Nothing else was said for quite a while, until a thought came to mind. "Tseng.. What all happened those past eight months? What have I missed?"

Caught slightly off guard by the question, Tseng shifted, and rolled his shoulders. "..Quite a lot, sir. After the destruction of Shinra everyone was pretty much at a loss of what to do or think. Midgar went haywire for quite a while, but it's all under control now…" He got up and walked over to Elena, adjusting her body so she wasn't completely mangled and wouldn't complain of pain when she got up in the morning. "Meteor came down, destroyed much of upper Midgar. The only survivors evacuated in fear that it would collapse, which some of it did. It's mostly ruins now, but the people took spare parts that could easily be reused and used them to began rebuilding a new city. It was the Lifestream that saved us after all."

"The Lifestream?" Rufus asked, slightly surprised by that. "Where are we now? And how do you know it was the Lifestream?"

Tseng sat back down on his bed, sighing. "Well sir, AVALANCHE managed to find the City of the Ancients and call forth Holy. Sephiroth however prevented it from happening, but eventually he too was taken down by AVALANCHE. If it weren't for Holy and the Lifestream sir, we'd most likely all be dead… We're currently in Junon. It's the closest city we could move you to move you to that was at the safest distance." he explained, picking up his book again. "But now that you're awake, you should be able to be out of here and back to Edge once you're completely healed."

Rufus glanced over. "Edge?"

He turned a page in his book, skimming for a few seconds. "The new city outside of Midgar."

"Oh, I see." He laid back against his bed, yawning for a moment. "I suppose I should start thinking up an action plan." Tseng chuckled at his comment.

"We'll support you every step of the way, sir."

--

There you go buddies and pals. Therapy for good ol' Rufusy starts next chapter… I can just smell how happy that's going to make him. xD

The number of views and reviews really helped and encouraged me to continue this story -- I really wasn't going to until the reviews kept coming in. So keep them coming it, it helps me fight off the evil procrastination demons.

Much love.


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